Undead Beast Master: Living Solely for My Desires-Chapter 341: Midnight’s Playground

"So this is the place where Zaroth has stayed all this time?" Zack asked, gazing at the city positioned high on the mountains.

"Yep, the only way to get past these mountains is to go through the city, making it an important logistical point. I can see why Elysia entrusted the place to Zaroth," Roran spoke, high from his levitating sword. After learning how to surf on one of them, he did it as often as he could. It was one of his joys in life.

"Then let's go!" Lily urged, taking a few steps forward.

Grace followed close behind as the group of four began ascending the mountain path.

"Hey, now that I think about it, didn't Midnight come to pay him a visit?" Zack muttered.

"Knowing her, she probably reached him without a problem," Roran replied. "The fact that we haven't heard from her must mean they've been enjoying each other's company."

"I still can't wrap my head around the fact that she's supposed to be a vampire," Grace said, her hair whipping around in the harsh mountain wind.

Considering that they were most likely going to meet her again, they informed Grace about Midnight, thinking it would be better to prevent any misunderstandings.

"I know, right? The rumors about demons—and especially vampires—were definitely exaggerated," Lily added, nearly losing her balance against the wind.

Roran thought about telling her that Midnight was probably the exception to those rumors, but in the end, he decided to keep his mouth shut.

Soon after, they reached the gates of Drakmire Bastion. Contrary to their expectations, there weren't any guards to meet them.

Assuming that there was a problem in the city, they quickly entered, beginning to travel through the streets.

"Weird, the place looks like it is deserted," Roran pointed out, his eyes narrowing. He had gotten off his flying sword as it was getting harder to control it due to the wind.

Shivers went down their spines. Had Zaroth failed to protect the city?

But that didn't make sense—there was no damage visible to the infrastructure. It was just deadly quiet.

They didn't need to ponder on the reason as soon the cries of battle reached their ears.

"This is coming from the other side!" Zack shouted with urgency in his voice, beginning to run full force, the others not far behind.

'So this is why there was no human in sight. They all must be hidden in their buildings,' Roran realized.

They soon reached the other side of the city that bordered the Crimson Sun Empire, and the scene left them shocked.

They expected to see Zaroth and Midnight fighting against the enemy forces—maybe the man would have even summoned Luna.

But Zaroth was nowhere in sight.

Instead, ten black-eyed humans were locked in combat against an army of thousands. One of them was run through the heart with a spear—yet showed no pain. With calm brutality, he killed the soldier in front of him, then pulled the spear from his chest. The wound healed in a second before their eyes.

"Are these even humans?" Lily couldn't help but mutter. Whatever these things were, they were battling against an army barehanded, displaying inhuman strength.

"Oh? Fancy meeting you here."

They were so engrossed in the fight that they didn't sense Midnight, who was close to the gates, observing from a chair with a glass of wine in her hand.

"What is this?" Zack was the first one to speak, pointing at the creatures that had human-like appearance and seemed to battle unafraid of death.

A mischievous smile began to form on Midnight's lips as her eyes shined menacing crimson.

"My army," she replied plainly.

"Your army?" Zack repeated, his eyes observing the way these things fought. He was a person that was able to go beyond what a human should have been able to achieve, and yet these creatures seemed to be stronger and faster than himself.

Roran released a sigh. "It seems that we aren't the only ones that have gotten stronger," He summoned his swords and launched them toward the enemy forces.

With a click of his tongue, Zack followed. He'd thought he was becoming powerful—but clearly, this vampire possessed abilities far beyond his expectations.

Lily, rather than joining the battle, walked over to Midnight. The two began chatting, watching the chaos together—it had been some time since they last spoke.

Grace's body tensed momentarily. She had seen Midnight before, but at the time she wasn't aware that she was looking at a demon—a vampire.

'Vampires and demons are supposed to be humanity's enemies… and yet she's defending the city?'

Countless questions flowed in her mind, deciding to make use of the situation, she too approached the two girls, joining in their conversation.

*****

Enjoying the scenery, Zaroth was happily whistling. He stopped momentarily as his eyes narrowed.

'I was supposed to go back to Drakmire Bastion and have Midnight teach me more demonic skills… but this takes priority.'

Up ahead, a small village came into view.

"Fire," he spoke coldly, and Luna did as commanded, releasing a devastating inferno.

'Let's see if this works,' closing his eyes, he concentrated on the fire and tried to use his fire control skill to make it stronger.

He didn't have high hopes, yet it seemed to work as the inferno got a bit bigger and hotter.

The people below didn't have much time to register what was happening before they were melted into nothingness.

"Onwards," Zaroth spoke as Luna continued soaring through the skies.

It may have seemed heartless—laying waste to every settlement in his path—but Zaroth saw it as a necessary evil.

These villages lay near the border. Most civilians would have already been evacuated and replaced by soldiers.

And if that wasn't the case, leaving them alive would make it more likely that it could negatively impact the Draconian Empire, and Zaroth wouldn't allow that.

"How long have we been going at it?" he muttered, glancing around.

He had lost count of how many strongholds he and Luna had destroyed, but according to the map, they should soon be reaching the Graveborn Empire.

'About three days,' Luna replied with their telepathic connection.

A smirk appeared on Zaroth's face. 'So I can manage to keep her in her dragon form for so long, huh? It seems that I really have grown a lot stronger,' he mused.

For a fraction of a second, Luna wondered if she should tell Zaroth to rest. He had not only stayed three days awake but had even supplied her with enough mana to destroy any outpost they had come across.

'No, he must know this is self-destructing. If he desires to get rid of the enemy as quickly as he could, then I will let him be,' she concluded.

Eventually, Zaroth's eyeballs started to feel heavy, making him call the decision to turn back. He had made enough damage—or that was the plan—until he sensed something familiar in the distance.

He had become pretty good at picking energy from afar by now, but what caught his attention the most was that this energy felt very familiar.

It didn't take him long to realize who it was as his eyes widened in surprise.

"This has to be David!"